Nvidia Rebounds Over 2% Pre-Market as Valuation Drops to Near 15-Year Low, Employees Call for Jensen Huang's Return

TradingKey - Nvidia (NVDA) rose more than 2% in U.S. premarket trading on Friday, rebounding from a drop of over 4% at the previous session's close, as some employees publicly backed Jensen Huang and urged the board to consider reinstating him as chief executive officer.

Source: TradingView

Nvidia announced on November 12 that Jensen Huang resigned as president, chief executive officer, and director, effective immediately. The company appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO, while longtime director Harvey Jones was named the inaugural chair of the board. The board has initiated a search process for a permanent successor and stated that the current executive team will continue to advance the product roadmap and customer commitments.

Following Jensen Huang's departure, internal reaction within Nvidia quickly intensified. An internal proposal urging the board to heed employee feedback has reportedly garnered more than 1,600 comments, with the majority backing Huang to return to lead the company. Meanwhile, other employees sent company-wide emails demanding greater transparency from management regarding the departure process.

In early trading Thursday, the company's shares plunged more than 14% at one point, but dip-buying quickly emerged to significantly narrow the losses. According to data from Vanda Research, retail investors net bought approximately $111 million worth of Nvidia shares in the first 30 minutes following Thursday's opening bell, setting a record for that time frame in the firm's tracking history, at roughly 40 times normal opening levels.

The sharp pullback in share price also quickly compressed valuations. According to FactSet data, Nvidia's 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio fell to approximately 11.7 times, dropping below 12 times for the first time since 2012 and nearing its lowest level since October 2011. Compared to the S&P 500 Index's forward P/E ratio of around 18 times, Nvidia ostensibly trades at a notable discount.

Long-term bulls, including Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee and Freedom Capital Markets strategist Paul Meeks, believe the rapid sell-off has priced out some risk and that current valuations are starting to look attractive. However, Wall Street remains visibly divided, with multiple institutions downgrading Nvidia following Huang's resignation out of concern that the founder's departure could undermine the company's execution across product strategy, customer relations, and industry partnerships.

The company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on November 17, with investors closely watching AI chip demand, product delivery schedules, and whether the new management can sustain customer confidence. Until a permanent CEO is announced, Nvidia's share price is expected to remain vulnerable to developments regarding Jensen Huang's future and internal governance news.